To only want to look after my own children on strike day?

[emkana]

I'm a sahm. I know one of my wohm friends was hoping I would offer to have her two on strike day - they are already coming round for"after school" that day but I just can't face having them for the whole day. I know with just my three it will be a fun relaxing day but with five, four of them girls who don't want to include ds who is the youngest it would be no fun at all. Is that horrible of me?

Well said Greythorne

I am a SAHM and I also work from home - more sporadically than I would like.

The attitude of 'well you are available and therefore should help' fecks me off.

The strike is causing a childcare problem - this is not the sole responsibility for MOTHERS to sort out.

Right, ok. Now I know what WOHM means!

Well I work from home so it means that friends will often ask me to have their child for them. So for example tomorrow I've got two extra at home who aren't mine.

Do I particularly want to look after them. No. Will I? Yes. Why? Because they are friends and friends help each other out. Yes it's a bit of an inconvenience because no doubt they'll be noisy but hey, friends help each other out and one day I'll probably need them to help me out too and I hope they will go to a bit of extra effort to accomodate me, just as I have done for them tomorrow.

Of course there's a point where it's too much inconvenience and you shouldn't feel guilty for saying no. But I guess it comes down to how much you value the friendship.

Work Out of the Home Mother. I am a sah/wfhM.

Niceguy2 your arrangement sounds fine. Parents of my DS's friends area not MY FRIENDS. There is no reciprocal arrangement offered and it is presumptuous. I don't feel bad not to offer or to say no to children I don't really know.

I am not lucky to be home, I was made redundant and am making the most of the situation as much as I can.

YANBU and a bit hard on yourself as it seems that its more than "I dont want to do it" and more like actually its practically extremely difficult to do it. Also, I think it would be different if she had been prevented from taking a day off by her employer, but from what you say, she doesnt want to "waste leave" but is happy to "waste your lovely day with the DC". Unfair and I am sure you wouldnt hesitate if she had a genuine emergency.

I genuinely dont understand the SAHM versus WOHM thing going on here - surely its not one or the other for most people. Perhaps its where I live, or the age of my DD, but almost all the friends and women that I know through DD, work various degrees of part time. I work 2 days a week so dont know in which category I fall - bit of both like lots of women, so why does the argument seem so entrenched.